(NewsNation) — “I feel your anger. I’m angry,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in a news conference Wednesday afternoon focused on the shooting of a woman by an ICE officer.
For the latest on the shooting and investigation, including comments from President Trump and Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem, click here.
“We’ve been warning for weeks that the Trump administration’s dangerous, sensationalized operations are a threat to our public safety; that someone was going to get hurt. Just yesterday, I said exactly that. What we are seeing is the result of governance designed to create fear, headlines and conflict. Today, that recklessness cost someone her life,” Walz said.
Walz focused many of his comments on the possibility of protests, and state actions. He has activated the state emergency operations system, which ties together multiple state agencies that are on alert. And he issued a “warning order” for the Minnesota National Guard.
“We have soldiers in training prepared to be deployed if necessary,” Walz said. “I remind you, a warning order is a heads-up to folks. And these National Guard troops are our National Guard troops. They are teachers in your community, they are construction workers, they are business professionals. They are Minnesotans. These are our neighbors. They don’t wear masks, they don’t bust in from somewhere else, they are not here to cause hassles to you or what we saw today, the tragedy.”
Walz said the lessons learned for the state during the 2020 protests played a role in preparing for what could happen.
“Having them at the ready to make sure because when we see these things happen, we saw after the murder of George Floyd, there are folks that want to cause chaos, there are disruptors. While the vast majority of those protesters were peacefully expressing their First Amendment rights, there were those who destroyed property and put people at risk. The National Guard is there to make sure that peaceful protests are able to be done, and that those who want to do the destruction are stopped.”
Walz also spent some time asking Minnesotans to make sure protests are peaceful, saying that if protest became violent, it could give the federal government a reason to intervene.
“They want a show. We can’t give it to them. We can’t give them what they want. If you’re protesting, please do so peacefully as you always do. We can’t give them what they want,” Walz said.
“To Minnesotans, do not take the bait. Do not allow them to deploy federal troops into here. Do not allow them to invoke the Insurrection Act. Do not allow them to declare martial law. Do not allow them to lie about the security and decency of this state. And let’s let this investigation play itself out. Let’s make sure we protect our neighbors. I encourage you to use your First Amendment rights and constitutional rights, but do so in a peaceful manner.”
Minnesota State Police and the FBI are leading the investigations into the shooting. Walz said that investigation needs to happen.
“I think it’s really important, and the professionals do this and they have trained me to do this, this is an open investigation and we need to be very careful about it. I know that many of you, myself included, have seen a very difficult video to watch, one where there is a family member who watched their family member be shot and killed in front of them. It is beyond me that apparently from the federal government, from the Homeland Security Director herself, has already determined who this person was, what their motive was, when they hadn’t even been taken out of the vehicle. We’re not living in a normal world.”
Walz went on to call for other cities to stand with Minnesota.
“I want to be very cautious here, because Donald Trump will make this about me. He will make this about politics. This is about public safety, and it’s about normalcy. To Americans who are watching this, if you are in Portland, or you’re in L.A., or you’re in Chicago, or wherever they are coming next, stand with us. Stand with us against this.”